Such a Complicated Door For Such a Simple Shepherd | Engels Coach Shop 

So nice it’s Friday and we can watch our friend Mr Engels again! Thank you from Sweden, for all your effort showing the world your knowledge and skills.

A couple of years back, I made myself a sign for the workshop, "If you can't measure twice, at least measure once". You don't need to ask me why. . .

The power of positive thinking is exactly what you think it is. It's convincing yourself that you're right. I've made a million mistakes in my days as a woodworker, but as I always tell my apprentices: True talent lies in the ability to make mistakes look like you meant to do it that way.

The title is correct. You have perhaps the best table saw I've ever seen.

Well , that made my Friday , always fascinating to watch lovely things being made before your eyes . Great video 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

I love the effect you get with the stationary work and the saw going back and forth under it. You never fail to find interesting effects such as the self-screwing screws or self-driving nails. Thank you for your teaching of your knowledge as it gives a look at how craftsmen of over 100 years ago made things.

I was poking about in the ruins of an old homestead on the place I work for a few days ago, and thanks to this series, I suddenly realized the pile of boards and metal I was looking at, was in fact, the collapsed remains of a sheep herders wagon! I already knew it was a wagon, but a few select parts stood out, and I saw for a second how you see these heaps when they come to you on a pallet. Love this project!

Dave makes it look easy, even when covering mis-measurements.

You know you’re engrossed when you blow on the ipad screen after you file a little for fit.🤣

I Really enjoy seeing your work and the time you give to explaining your thought process. I was a little surprised you did not draw bore and peg the mortise joints on the door. It did look like thats how they were secured originally. Doors / gates get a rough life and this type of joint is quite usual in the Uk if the door is exposed and wedged tenon is not suitable, as it gives resistance to the tenon pulling out and provides a really tight shoulder joint. I’m sure the modern glue will be a very good alternative and is a practical solution.

It's hard to believe that table saw is over 100 years old. You really have gotten your money's worth out of it.

It just kinda dawned on me. I used to watch the DIY channel etc., to enjoy seeing skilled craftsmen do work that I wanted to try to emulate someday. Then Discovery Network bought them and turned them into competitions. Thank you for bringing that back. I wish it was every night, but as a Boomer, I used to have to wait a week for the next episode. Twice a week is gravy. Thank you!!

Very enjoyable to watch your progress on this sheep wagon. Thanks Dave and Diane for taking us along

The table saw action shots remind me of sitting in a train in a station when the train on the next track starts pulling out and you think you are moving.

My great uncle Chelis made violins. My grandmother had his toolbox and body form and two of his violins, then a relative came and demanded the toolbox and one of the violins. Us grandkids now have the remaining violin, it didn't survive storage and split into several pieces, but it still has his photo he glued with pitch glue inside that could be viewed through the F hole. I got to have a good look at it, inside and out. It has a case lined with soft felt, a string bridge, bow, tuning knobs, finely carved headstock, neck, and fingerboard. Judging by the manufacturing stamps on all these parts, I came to the conclusion that the only part of the violin he made was the body and the case (very small square nails in that too). It's very interesting, though; he made and sold violins, but the neck, tuning knobs, bow, finely carved headstock, bridge, and fingerboard are all purchased. I wonder if that door was a pre-fabricated purchase and not built by the builder of the sheep wagon?

Watching you do this I am imagining the process with hand tools. Although I know all of it could be done with planes, rabbet planes, chisels, and hand saws. Am I missing the era? Sure seems like a lot of work with hand tools only. How would folks have built the door in the era of the original wagon? Just seems out of character. Wagon put together with nails and the door such skilled carpentry. Could the door have been taken from the home of a carpenter after he was gone and used on the wagon?

I have been a subscriber for several years and have enjoyed every one of your videos. This sheep wagon is so far my favorite. It reminds me of my uncle. He was never a sheep herder but ran cattle and dealt with sheep herders as part of that endeavor and told stories about his adventures. This was many, many years ago. As an aside, when a small boy he helped his father with the horses and mules they used in their "trucking" business, that's how long ago it was. Thank you for keeping some of these old time skills alive and sharing them with us.

Amazing workmanship. Probably the original builder would be impressed at the craftsmanship in rebuilding what was a work-a-day old sheepwagon.

Great work Mr Dave. Those doors show a lot of interesting joints. My question is, will the owner be keeping this wagon in a protected area, or will it be out in the weather to degrade again.

Two questions I have that you may want to address in your videos is: lumber species choices for different applications and how much planed lumber was used in the day vs rough sawn. Thanks, enjoy your content.

It's obvious the door was on the wagon but I can't fathom it not being reclaimed from a barn or house and put on it. looks way too nice of a door to have been built for it. will have to see the complete door hurry next week!!

If I had not known what this was for I might have thought you were building a grandfather clock. It is very complicated for as you say, "just a sheep wagon". Great work and very interesting series of videos.

Anyone who builds things knows the rule is - It's not the quality of the craftsmanship that counts, it's the quality of the saves on the screwups you've made...

Well only humans make mistakes but that was a flock mistake it workout well at the end.

Very nice looking upper half of the door. It well look as good as the original door

I love that music @ 9:30 min. Heck, I've loved that all my life !! Great video !! Of Course !! Sincerely .................

Such a simple door yet such a well built and longer lasting door with Original Designs. Beautiful Job Dave and fabulous crafting. Stay safe and keep up the fun around there. Fred.

I got a chuckle from your "Positive Thinking" comment. 😁..........................>

The camera angles in this video are excellent. Thank you, Diane and Dave. Jim in Oregon

G'day, Yikes ! That certainly is an involved bit of Joinery...,very complicated indeed...; but I suppose - Sheepfarming is actually not simple, so I suppose a Sheepfarming equivalent of a Romany ("Gypsy") Caravan would almost Have to be Complicated - in order to Fit in with the requirements involved in being Manservant to a Mob of Sheep. They can't cope with Predators, Parasites, Competitors or Disease - being a thousands of years long line-bred "artificial" sort of a Critter...; and in Captivity the Sheep-keeper is obliged to feed and water and shelter the Mob, as well as protecting them from wild and inclement weather. I had no idea, until I started living surrounded by Grazing Properties.... Cattle Barons & Grass Pirates are very complicated people. It's the people who can't get a job, or make a living where they come from who go off to the city looking for Work..., and the ones who can figure out how to stay where they're bred to fit in - they're possibly the smartest people out of all Humanity...(?). So, yeah, Sheepfarmers do indeed have Complicated Doors, it seems to stand to reason...? (lol). Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. Ciao !

Thanks for sharing with us Dave your work is amazing

Interesting. Thank you. As an Australian, I have always considered "Biscuit Joints" to be mostly a US "thing". (Why don't you call them cookie joins?!) Dowels, done well, seem to me to be potentially more robust. ('Biscuit' means "twice cooked" in old French)

I like your pipe clamps to ease the first fittings of the frame. I would have just hammered them home and probably broke one🤠

Dave’s joints: tighter than Alcatraz! Betcha they are better than when it was new. 😅

It's like thinking up and making a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle.

Working with offcuts and scraps is the most satisfying for me in my meager woodshed. Glad to see you use many also.

Dave . I noticed that you used wax on the mortise and tenon joints at the fitting up stage then you glue the joints later doesn’t the wax cause an issue with the glue? ❤to Diane 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I recall those tenons being called haunch tenons. I know when they don’t go all the through, like those you fabricated, are blind tenons. Fully enjoy watching a craftsman work. Been a long time viewer!

How does Dave amass all this perfect straight grain knot free wood? My grandfather was a cabinet maker who always kept pieces of “good” wood. But nothin’ like Dave! 🧐

I enjoy watching an artist at work. Thanks for sharing

I really enjoy watching your craftsmanship on making the sheep wagon door!👍

The one thing that's been crossing my mind this whole time watching you build this wagon. is "Wow! threre are some pretty complicated joinery going on here for a simple sheep wagon and in the era of time here.? For some Royality in European furniture building I can understand it but for a simple sheep wagon. just goes to show you there were some pretty gud craftsmen back than also. well done! both generations, And it was nice of you to leave in your "OOps " moment on those lower door panels Thanks for being honest and for sharing. ECF>

If you didn’t tell us you made a mistake, you would be the only one to ever know. It looks perfect to me (and the rest of the world).

Seems like fancy woodwork for a utilitarian wagon. Could parts of it been purchases from a supplier of fancier cabinetry?

Hi Dave, stick to the "power of positive thinking"! Much more professional.

Another interesting and educational episode. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂

That's a weird optical illusion with that moving table saw :D I suppose you could have shimmed the old door panel pieces to fit and it would be hidden by the trim, but I think you're right, it'll look better, and more authentic, if top and bottom match. And since you had the perfect pieces for it...

Beautiful job deciphering and making all this jumble.

That did seem overly complicated way of making a door, particularly when you need to make two. Possibly apprentice carpenter made them before they were going to be journeyman so showed off their skill? Would the short door be used to let out sheepdog?

Imagine making all those door joints in the old days without the aid of electric saws and precision instruments. Great craftsmanship as ever Dave.

Complicated yes...but she's got some very strong joints. I'd reckon the original "wheelwright" figured the door was to see a lot of use and utility and the mindset at that time was to build it in that fashion. I like the idea of using the biscuits vs. the pegs (dowl pins). The next stage should be even more interesting..

I think about all the work using the planer, table saw, mortiser, etc, and have to wonder how much effort that would have been "back in the day".

That's gotta be why the original used dowels and not biscuits - the biscuits are too long. Well, either that or they misplaced the joiner. I guess there's really no way of knowing why they didn't use them 🙃

Gee, I've been watching for year's and from memory this is Dave's first mistake!

Dave. That has to be the most beautiful table saw I have ever seen. So versatile

With the door arrangement being so complicated, am wondering if the door and frame might have been a commercially available item (kit) that was sold to wagon/caravan fabricators back in the day?

A sharpe chisel is a happy chisel. The windows in my 1882 have house have mortise and tenon corners with wooden dowels. Easy to work with and easy to repair.

You could go to work in a cabinet shop because that's the most complicated door for the back of a sheep wagon and you got your nails in too I see! I would use more of a weather proofing stain to prevent rot and warping from moisture but I'm not the shepherd. there is a furniture restoration channel called John's furniture repair run by Trena, might want to check her channel out? thanks for posting!

Complicated door for a simple wagon? Maybe it was taken from another project and made to fit, would explain some of the odd pieces in construction

It seems like the builder had a Joiner or cabinet maker build the door. I don't think the joints are what a carpenter would have used. Without water proof glue a bridal joint is what a carpenter would have used on the corners and through tenon's for rails. If a carpenter had built it with tenon's it's likely he would have pegged them rather than nail them after the glue failed. It's always interesting seeing the choice of techniques used in the original build. That, to me is why it's important to replicate the original techniques in a restoration.

Could it be the 1/4in rebates confused the finished widths? Nice work there with blind mortice n tenons and all the rebates .Watch out for the rebate at the mid height in your height calcs! :)

Serendipitous miscalculation! Door's lookin' good. 😄👍

Always looking forward until your next video. Thanks for the joy.

Somebody worked overtime on that door design. It’s a very busy piece.

Ah c'est pas grave y à pas de mauvais ouvriers 😅 y'a que de mauvais outils 🤣😂, cela dit , je trouve ça fascinant de voir de pièces de bois qui s'emboîtent a la perfection je ne m'en lasse pas c'est presque comme de là magie , en fin bref, a bientôt bye bye. Nathalie 🇫🇷 Normandie

Glad your little bo-bo forced the use of new(er) wood, especially on the door. I understand the reason for reusing the old parts but I cringe when I see all of your care and effort going into old, dry, brittle wood.

Glad to see the biscuit joiner come out, one of my favorite tools to use. I know I'm doing a fun project when I need that

It may seem complicated for a simple wagon, but thats how you make a proper door. Cheap than ≠ cheap now

Nice video series. Regarding measuring the door, there is a nice saying: 'The mistakes we make are our best teachers'

Somewhere along the track I lost how this whole side of the wagon is constructed. But still interesting to watch 😄.

It seems odd that the joinery on that door would be so advanced, when a lot of the rest of the wagon seems so crude, so do you think the door was purchased from a factory or a separate craftsman, rather than being made by the person who built the wagon?

From Australia is pleasure to see a master craftsman in action 😮

Those door panels were too weathered anyway. Im glad you didn't use them.

Is there a problem with the bees wax preventing the glue from penetrating the wood when gluing up the mortise and tenons?

40+ years ago my first project was putting a deck on my first house. My brother-in-law talked me into joining the 2x4 rails into the 4x4 uprights. I had no idea how I was going to make square holes without a lot of chisel work. My B-I-L asked around at work if there was an easier way and his friend said he had a square drill bit, but we would need to bring the wood so he could use his drill press. I thought we were going on a snipe hunt until I saw that drill bit inside the square housing. It was an easy solution.

Some seldom seen machines appeared. Thanks. We need a machinery tour.

It is really entertaining how something’s are very simple then it turns into multiple parts do several things crammed into a small section

One wonders if the reason a window was added to the door on later versions of the wagon was to alleviate shepherds having to say, "who's there" when hearing a knock on the door? Diane, we noticed the creative view of the table saw at 5:00 into the video.

A craftsman makes mistakes, but then makes them look good!

I think you are ahead of the game by making a new panel! It would be a crime to have to replace the old panel board's before the rest of the door is in need of replacement again at least it is all starting p ff on the same plain!

Does anyone know how readily available panes of glass were 100 years ago?

You say that the door is too good for the wagon maybe it's second hand and was used as an easy option to billd or repair the wagon wich may explain it

I wonder if the door was repurposed or custom made for them by a cabinet maker.

Either that door was bought from someone else, or more than one person had a hand in building the wagon. The advanced joinery in the door has nothing to do with the same person that used bent nails to hold part of the wagon together.

when your mortising bit smokes it’s time to sharpen the bit for those not in the know you can send them into the factory for re sharpening.

Amazing workmanship 😊👍👌🙏❤️🤠

You have a great pair of hands on you, as the old timers would have said.

I always like your videos, not because you do something specific because it seems that you do what you like. It is the greatest fun to watch someone who is doing what he likes.

The door is a work of art like all of Mr Engles work

I wonder if you would find Crescent NP11 helpful. I have a pair and they're generally pretty good but I think the grind on the jaws could be a bit better.

When using a hollow chisel mortiser always cut the shoulders first and then take out the middle, that way you don't end up with a tapered mortise.

Thanks for sharing looks almost too nice for a sheep wagon

That table has a moving top 😗😊don’t see that every day.

Hahaha, the power of positive thinking! Sir, you are funny! Congratulations on the wagon build so far and thanks for sharing your experience!

I’m always so glad when I see a new post of the woodworking magical at work! It totally makes me relax

Given the narrowness and the complexity, do you suppose they might have re-purposed some old kitchen cabinet door frames?

I understand waxing the tenons makes assembly easier, but won't it prevent the glue from penitrating into the wood? Making the glue almost useless?

its not scrap it future projects

That door is a work of art! Your interpretation of the door works well with the wagon. So much more interget than one would think! You nailed it….HA HA! If this wagon was somehow road legal, it would be a great tiny house or RV! A vardo would be envious. Thanxz

Thank God you didn’t have to pound mail heads over.🇺🇸👍🏻👏🏻✅⭐️